Overview
As racist undercurrents in many western societies become manifestly entrenched, the prevalence of Islamophobia - and the need to understand what perpetuates it - has never been greater. Critiquing the arguments found in notionally left accounts and addressing the limitations of existing responses, What is Islamophobia? demonstrates that Islamophobia is not simply a product of abstract, or discursive, ideological processes, but of concrete social, political and cultural actions undertaken in the pursuit of certain interests. The book centres on what the editors refer to as the 'five pillars of Islamophobia': the institutions and machinery of the state; the far right, incorporating the counterjihad movement; the neoconservative movement; the transnational Zionist movement; and assorted liberal groupings including the pro-war left, and the new atheist movement. The book concludes with reflections on existing strategies for tackling Islamophobia, considering what their distinctive approaches mean for fighting back.
Full Product Details
Author: Narzanin Massoumi ,
Tom Mills ,
David Miller
Publisher: Pluto Press
Imprint: Pluto Press
Weight: 0.386kg
ISBN: 9780745399577
ISBN 10: 0745399576
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 20 June 2017
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
'A masterful volume, intellectually provocative... it challenges the basic assumptions of the Islamophobia scholarship field... A must read for any person concerned with the current period and the rising tide of bigotry and racism.' -- Hatem Bazian, founder of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, University of California at Berkeley 'A remarkably courageous and painstakingly evidence-based book... This unique and much needed framework for understanding Islamophobia is a must read for social scientists, policy makers and human rights activists alike!' -- Salma Yaqoob, Political Activist and Head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition
'A masterful volume, intellectually provocative... it challenges the basic assumptions of the Islamophobia scholarship field... A must read for any person concerned with the current period and the rising tide of bigotry and racism.' -- Hatem Bazian, founder of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, University of California at Berkeley 'A remarkably courageous and painstakingly evidence-based book... This unique and much needed framework for understanding Islamophobia is a must read for social scientists, policy makers and human rights activists alike!' -- Salma Yaqoob, Political Activist and Head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition The best study I have ever seen of this scourge that now plagues the world. The range and precision of analysis concludes on a note of hopeful solidarity that builds on a critique of the left, certain sections of which have 'adopted de facto racist positions'. -- Joel Kovel, author of Overcoming Zionism (2007) and The Lost Traveller's Dream (2017) This volume is a critical contribution to a better understanding of Islamophobia. Through different studies in numerous countries the reader gets an in-depth picture of this new phenomenon which has to do with state policies, structural racism and ideological instrumentalisation of fear. A must read if we want to find the right strategy to counter racism against Muslims around the world. -- Tariq Ramadan, author of Radical Reform, Radical Ijtihad (2008) This important, thoughtful and disturbing book could not be more timely. Islamophobia, the new racism, has become increasingly entrenched and respectable, even in certain liberal circles. The authors compel us to examine our institutions, face unwelcome facts, and revise some of our culturally entrenched positions and assumptions. Only thus can we pull back from an unthinkable moral, spiritual and political disaster. -- Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God
Author Information
Narzanin Massoumi is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow (2016-19) at the University of Bath. She is the author of Muslim Women, Social Movements and the 'War on Terror' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and the co-editor of What is Islamophobia? (Pluto, 2017). Tom Mills is Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University. He is the author of The BBC: The Myth of a Public Service (Verso, 2016) and the co-editor of What is Islamophobia? (Pluto, 2017). David Miller is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. He is the co-editor of What is Islamophobia? (Pluto, 2017) and the author of Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy (Pluto, 2007) and A Century of Spin (Pluto, 2007).
